Exactly 50 years after Ford’s first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it has once again bagged the win in this year’s competition. At the 20th hour of the race, in what seemed to be déjà vu, the No. 68 Ford GT took the lead and snatched the title from the No. 82 Ferrari.

This year’s win is as historic as when it first won at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours. What better way to pay homage to the car that has made Ford the first American automaker to win at the prestigious event than to win it again on its golden anniversary. It truly is a proud moment for Ford and to kick off the celebrations, Ford is releasing a limited edition 2017 Ford GT.

The 2017 Ford GT ’66 Heritage Edition is as stunning as the “standard” 2017 GT but its features commemorate the 1966 GT40 driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon at the 1966 Le Mans. This limited edition GT has a Shadow Black exterior that comes in either a gloss or matte finish with silver stripes and some exposed carbon fiber. To further pay homage to the original GT40, the ’66 Heritage edition will also feature a Frozen White #2 graphic on its hood as well as on its doors. Additional exterior enhancements include the 20-inch one-piece forged aluminium wheels dressed in gold satin clearcoat and dotted with black lug nuts.

Now for the interior, Ford has made sure that it is of top quality. A unique serialized identification plate can be found inside this limited edition GT40. It also gets a #2 graphic on the interior door similar to the one on the exterior. The door sills, air register pods and center console are all of exposed matte carbon.

Basically, almost everything inside the ’66 Heritage GT is wrapped in Ebony leather like the carbon-fiber seats, the instrument panel, pillars and headliner. The seats have pillowed inserts and its head restraints are stamped with the Ford GT logo. Similarly, the steering wheel is also adorned with Ford GT’s logo. Its instrument panel and the X-brace on the seat and shift paddles are gold embellished to make the car look even more elegant.

One distinctive feature found in both the 1966 GT and the limited edition Heritage is its leather-wrapped steering wheel and the unique blue webbing featured on its seatbelts. There hasn’t been any official announcement on the pricing but we’re expecting it to be in the range of $400,000 or less. As to the exact number of units to be produced, it is also a question as of the moment. All we have to do now is to wait and see how this ode to the 1966 Le Mans winning GT would fair in contrast to other sports cars of this generation.

Press Release

Ford GT 66 Heritage Edition

The all-new 2017 Ford GT will be available in a limited-edition Heritage theme honoring the GT40 Mark II driven to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon at Le Mans in 1966 - part of the historic 1-2-3 Ford GT sweep. The car will feature unique interior and exterior color themes, and an exclusive wheel finish.

"Celebrating the anniversary of Ford's historic victories at Le Mans has always been a part of the return of the Ford GT," said Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, product development, and chief technical officer. "The 2017 Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition is a stunning tribute to the car that kicked off Ford's string of Le Mans victories in 1966."

The interior of the limited edition model wraps the Ford GT carbon-fiber seats in Ebony leather, with pillowed inserts and plow-through stitching, and the seats' head restraints and the steering wheel are debossed with the Ford GT logo. The instrument panel, pillars and headliner also features an Ebony-leather wrap, with gold appliqués on the instrument panel, the seat's X-brace and shift paddles. Like the 1966 race car, the steering wheel is leather wrapped, with seat belts featuring a unique blue webbing.

Garen Nicoghosian, exterior design manager for the car, says the team set out to highlight where it all started with the Ford GT. "While the looks are distinctly based on the GT40 Mark II race car," he says, "we've accentuated new styling cues to provide a modern interpretation."

Autonomous cars are now becoming more of a reality as carmakers and their partners continue the development of self-driving technologies. Connected vehicles now actually exist but auto companies see that...